Eastick Falcon 26

[smitch6]

I have a falcon 26 made by Eastick's of Acle 

As far as i know she started her life off on the broads and then got sold off to someone ( i think mr D Waite) of Staines and moved to the Thames

I have the thames registration number 74449

i would love to get the original broads number back on her.

all the falcon 26's i have found info on were built in 75/76

all the paperwork i have say mine is a 77

at some point the engine has been moved also, all the falcon's have the engine out the back in the rear deck well, (strange layout) 

they had a V drive gearbox.

Mine is now in the rear bed cabin and a straight thru gearbox.

It has the hole in the rear well so i'd say it used to be there and was moved at some point but i may be wrong as all the panels look the same as the rest of the boat,

if the engine was out the back these panels wouldn't of been needed.

she has had alot of work done to her over the years i have a receipt for £1300 which was done in 1995

that was huge amount in 95.

I looked under the galley drawer today and found some writing and am sure it said 'Harmony 2'

which is strange as that isn't a varient of the falcon 26

i will double check tomorrow and have a closer look as it's quite faded 

i'm actually restoring her so will keep looking for bits in cupboards and inside the walls etc for any info.

there was various signs on the boat ie battery master switch with a logo of a swallow i think it is.

which is obviously a boat hire logo, i will take a pic of it tomorrow and post it and hopefully someone will recognise the logo.

but if anyone knows anything about the falcon 26 i'd love to hear from you

thanks

[NorfolkNog]

I hired a Falcon from Easticks in the summer of 1976.  Can't remember much about it I'm afraid other than it had hydraulic drive. It didn't strike me as being brand new and nothing was mentioned. So possibly it was built in 1975? The main thing that sticks in my mind is that the yard were not the most friendly the Broads. We didn't go back. I may have taken some photos but they will sadly be with the previous Mrs Nog.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, I'm sure there will be someone out there with more info.

[oldgregg]

Do you have a picture of her? That'd help people figure out what she is.

Harmony 2 sounds like her name from when in hire.

I suspect the 'Swallow' is the old Hoseasons bluebird?

Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[smitch6]

not a very good pic, and the blue top is actually a baby blue as it's been painted (badly)

the bottom rubbing strake goes all the way round as well which is only like it on a specific model

most had it stopping near the front and another bit just round the front

[NorfolkNog]

I can't see any boats listed as 'Harmony' on Craig's site which are listed as Falcons. I'm not sure how many Easticks built, I don't think it was many. It would be interesting to find out more. I don't suppose you have the Broads registration number as well as the Thames one?

[smitch6]

nope i have contacted BA and they are hunting thru records for me ( handy knowing ppl within the ranks)

i have also managed to contact a cpl of previous owners and he bought it off a chap who was the nephew of the chap that bought it from the broads to the thames i think, but he can't remember their names annoyingly so drawn a blank there.

The original BA number is what i am desperate to find as i'd luv to have the original number

[smitch6]

small update....... as far as i know she was a hire craft with Hoseasons as by the looks of this sticker it has the old bluebird logo on it, there were a few various signs on the boat like gas etc with the bluebird logo on it also, so not just this 1

i'm waiitng to hear back from Hoseasons as to what they know,

i did speak to someone before but i thought it was an old blakes boat, so they weren't that helpful as they didn't have old records for Blakes.apart from 4 numbers for falcons but they were all H reg and mine is a 77 so a K or an L

that is correct as the rubbing strake changed and mine has 2 complete full bands were as the older ones had the bottom band broken up

fingers crossed i can come up with something

i'm w

 

[NorfolkNog]

Most of the ones on Craig's site are "H" 

One "K" which is still on the Broads and one "L" which left in 2007

I've a vague recollection the one we hired was via Blakes but could be wrong. 

[Captain]

Hi,

As far as I can remember the Falcon's (about 8 built) from Easticks cc 1975 and the Diamond Anchors (3 built)from Anchor Craft Acle built in 77-79 (K/L reg) only ever operated through Blakes. The Blue Gems (4)and Pastel Blue Gems (2) from 1974/5 (H reg) from Richardsons operated under Blakes and Hoseasons although I believe they ended up finishing their hirefleet days at Hearts Cruisers possibly as Heartbeat class. I also remember a couple briefly operating from the old Alan Johnson yard when it was an independent operation possibly former Diamond Anchors and a few were on hire from the Thames (under Hoseasons) including some of the Richardsons examples

[vanessan]

I have a Blakes brochure dated 1982 which was the first year we hired. I was about to book Diamond Anchor but changed my mind at the last minute and went for something a bit bigger instead as a friend was joining us. The picture in the brochure is of Diamond Anchor K682 which, according to Craig’s data base is still on the Broads but no longer a blue colour. Of the others in the class, L246 and L863, there is nothing very recent so they may have disappeared now. 

[RS2021]

From Hoseasons 1976 brochure. Fits with the Harmony name. But was it always on the Thames or moved from the Broads.

[JanetAnne]

If you know the build date I would recommend asking the good people of this forum (who have never let me down yet) to dig out their Blake's and Hoseasons catalogues from the period and have a look at all the entries for Falcon's and ask them to copy them here. I would suggest from 1976 to 1978/9.

If you can see the various layouts and oddities in rubbing strakes, deck furniture, hand rails etc. there is a very good chance you will, by process of elimination, identify your boat. 

[JanetAnne]

Just now, RS2021 said:

From Hoseasons 1976 brochure. Fits with the Harmony name. But was it always on the Thames or moved from the Broads.

Great minds think alike! 

[smitch6]

just spoke to a lovely lady (Gerry) at Hoseasons

we've emailed a few times back & forth but after finding these stickers i thought i'd speak to her directly,

she was lovely and said she is sure brinks used the names Harmony but she may be wrong.

she did also say they used to have boats on the Thames - so as suggested it may of always been on the Thames. the old Thames number is 74449 but i can't find anything out before 95

I did ring them but they weren't helpful in the slightest.

i also have Julie from the BA on the case :)

now going to ring Brinks and have a chat with them..........

watch this space.....

[RS2021]

From a slightly later brochure... A photo of Swan Harmony 2

[Broads01]

Not Brinks Harmony I don't think as they were Hampton if I recall. 

[JanetAnne]

Different strakes....

These will all be in their original gelcoat at this time of course and one is  or appears to be lighter?

Edited January 18, 2019 by JanetAnne
Can't spell

[smitch6]

well Brinks weren't helpful in the slightest

actually quite offish annoyingly

[smitch6]

not having a lot of luck here, just spoke to swan craft not in Henley anymore,

they said it's not 1 of there's as they only did 25' & 27' but tbh i haven't actually measured mine lol

not even sure how to measure it as i had a birchwood 33 which was nearly 35' long lol

just spoke to someone at swancraft in Norwich and he said with the rubbing strake it sounds like a thames boat and asked where i got it from...... tah dah the Thames area.....

but i have no way of tracing historic thames numbers or boats.

i did ring someone from BWW and they weren't helpful in the slightest

[gancanny]

diamond anchor from anchor craft had a complete bottom rubbing strake

 

     blakes 1991 brochure page 44

[smitch6]

they aren't going anymore are they?

[RS2021]

The 1976 Brochure picture looks like the broads and does not match - I suspect this was a library photo. The later photo which is actually Swan Harmony 2 - so name and number match shows a short strake part way down and a complete one at the bottom. A much better match.

[gancanny]

i dont think they are,   they are certainly not  hiring any longer

[Broads01]

Anchorcraft closed around 20 years ago and Bridgecraft next door took over the site. 

[NorfolkNog]

Yep, Bridgecraft took over the Anchorcraft operation. The Harmony bit ties in. I think brochures often use library photos as has been mentioned. Barnes Brinkcraft is a red herring I think, not renowned for being helpful either (allegedly)